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Senior year is a special time for all high school students. It's the time they've looked forward to most since that initial step onto campus as a freshman. For athletes, senior year is typically the time when they leverage all of the experience they've gained as an underclassman and it's a final chance to seek out a championship performance, individually or as part of a team effort.
As the spring high school track and field season begins, there are two Central Section female athletes who have their senior status and the experience to back them up as they seek a 2023 championship -- but with a twist.
Both Sydnie Vanek, a Clovis High long jumper, and Nailea Fields, a Caruthers High discus thrower, are back this season with a similar distinction: They are returning CIF State champions in their respective field events.
Vanek went 20-8.50 in a wind-aided (3.1) mark -- her personal best -- in the CIF State final. She has the top mark among all returning athletes in 2023. Riley Costales of Fresno Central is the next best returning long jumper in the Central Section mark-wise with an 18-10 she achieved at last April's West Coast Relays meet. Costales did reach the State prelims, but her 17-11.25 wasn't enough to advance to the State final.
Fields, meanwhile, won the State discus title with a top throw of 157-1, a mark that wasn't even her best in a CIF postseason meet in 2022. She won the CIF Central Section Division 4 discus title with a PR of 162-7 a few weeks earlier. Fields' PR mark is tops as the 2023 season begins. The next best Central Section discus thrower is Clovis North senior Loie Madsen, who tossed a 132-10 in the Central Section Division I final and went 119-9 in the State prelims but did not advance to the final.
Fields' State title win came before an eighth-place finish in the State shot put finals where she topped out at 39-9.50. Her best throw in that event last year was a 41-7.75 to finish second at the Central Section Masters Meet.
Nevertheless, Vanek and Fields are seniors in 2023 and they are in the envious position as defending state champions, a place all others -- seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen alike -- want to be. Whenever Vanek and Fields are competing in a meet this year, they'll likely focus on their own improvement and will be eager to be at their best.
While their status is something competitors will respect, they are just as likely to use this as a source of motivation, have a bit sharper focus and determination to beat the best.
Central Section Girls Athletes to Watch
Frontier, Sr.
Sprints
Carrillo reached the CIF State Meet in both the 100- and 200-meter sprints, going 12.10 and 24.94, to finish 16th and 14th, respectively. She won the 100 title in the SWYL Championships, in Central Section Division 1 and Central Section Masters Meet. In the 200, she was the runner-up in both the section final and Masters Meet. Her PR time in both the 100 and 200 came in a Bakersfield Liberty High-hosted Patriot Games in April. She went 11.89 in the 100 and 24.60 in the 200.
Clovis North, Jr.
Sprints/Relays
Cordoba is a member of Clovis North's 2022 CIF State Championship-winning 4x400 relay team along with now graduated Takiya Cenci (USC) and Tatum Zinkin (San Diego State) and returning Broncos sophomore Emerson Parks. The foursome won the State title in 3:45.38 to help Clovis North finish runner-up to Gardena Serra in the team title standings. Cordoba runs the 200 and 400, too. Her PR in the 400 is a 57.69 at the Mt. SAC Relays while her best time in the 200 was actually set her freshman year, a 25.87, at the Central Section Masters Meet.
Buchanan, So.
Distances
As a freshman in 2022, she won the Central Section Division 1 3200 title in 10:42.73 and finished second in the CS Division 1 final and CS Masters Meet. She qualified for the CIF State Meet in the 1600 and posted her PR time of 4:48.80 in the final, finishing seventh. She also ran the 800 during last season, finishing up in the TRAC League Championships with a runner-up showing. Her 800 PR time is 2:14.73 at Arcadia Invitational.Fresno Central, Sr.
Hurdles/Sprints/Jumps
Costales, who recently signed with San Jose State, returns after reaching the CIF State Meet final in the 300 hurdles (44.08) to place eighth. She also reached the State prelims in the long jump (17-11.25) and the 100 hurdles (14.69). She recorded her PR in the 100 hurdles at the CS Masters Meet (14.57). Her PR in the 300 hurdles was a 44.07 at the Arcadia Invitational. Her long jump PR is 18-10 at the West Coast Relays.
Clovis East, So.
Sprints/Jumps
As a freshman in 2022, Duvall was able to advance to the CIF State Meet prelims in the 100 where she went 12.20 for a personal-best time. She was second in the event at the TRAC championships, second in CS Division I final and third in the CS Masters Meet. In the 200, her best was a 24.75 for a runner-up finish in TRAC final, third in the CS Division I final and fourth in the CS Masters Meet. She does the long jump and has a 15-11 PR in it.
Caruthers, Sr.
Throws
Fields is the returning State champion in the discus throw where her 157-1 effort late last May earned her the title. She has a discus PR of 162-7 from the Central Section Division 4 Finals. She also reached the State Finals in the shot put where she placed eighth with a best of 39-9.50. Nailea hit her shot PR of 41-7.75 for second at the Central Section Masters Meet. She swept the throws in seven meets last season, including at the D-4 Finals. she has committed to University of Oklahoma.
Fresno Central, Sr.
Hurdles/Sprints/Relay
Hoggatt reached the CIF State Meet prelims in the 100 hurdles. Her PR time in the 100 hurdles is a 14.72 in a win at the Reedley Invitational. She was also the TRAC league champion (14.91) and improved on it in a runner-up finish in the CS Division I final (14.87) and a third-place finish in the CS Masters Meet (14.76). She also does the 300 hurdles and has a PR of 46.22. Central is expected to put her on the 4x100 relay team, which went 48.50 at the State Meet final and finished seventh.
Buchanan, Sr.
Distances
Committed to BYU this past fall, Hutchison, a cross country and track distance standout, hopes to conclude her four-year Buchanan career in style. Coming off a league, section, and state team championship-winning cross country season, Hutchison is the defending Central Section Division 1 champion in the 1600 and finished sixth at CIF State Meet in a personal-best time of 4:47.04. She qualified for the 3200 at State, too. Her PR in the 3200 was a 10:17.80 at the Arcadia Invitational. She was the 3200 runner-up in the Central Section Division 1 race, but won the 3200 in the Masters Meet. She also ran the 800 several times, notching a 2:12.25 PR at West Coast Relays, but didn't run it after TRAC league championship meet.Buchanan, Sr.
Pole Vault
The San Diego State commit was the lone Central Section athlete to compete in the CIF State Meet pole vault in 2022. She finished sixth, tapping out at 12-5. Her PR mark, 13-0, came at the Sanger Metric Classic last April. She won pole vault titles in TRAC championship (11-6), Division I Central Section final (11-8), and CIF Central Section Masters Meet (12-9). She also went 12-7 in the State prelims.
Buchanan, Sr.
Jumps/Pole Vault
Heading to Biola University this fall, Navarette is a versatile performer. She reached the CIF State Meet prelims in the triple jump where she recorded a PR mark of 36-5 to finish 16th. She also had a 36-5 in the Central Section Masters Meet a week earlier to finish third. She also pole vaults and was runner-up in the CS Division 1 Finals with a personal best of 11-8. Navarette has also done the long jump with a top mark of 15-10 at the TRAC league championships.
Clovis North, So.
Sprints/Relays
Another returning member of Clovis North's 2022 CIF State Championship 4x400 relay team, Parks is also a 200- and 400-meter runner. Last year, she ran a PR in the 200 at the TRAC League championships (26.01) and qualified for the Central Section Division 1 race. In the 400, she went as far as the CS Masters Meet. Her PR in the 400 is a 57.45, set at the Central Valley Classic last March.
Buchanan, Sr.
Distances
The Cal Poly San Luis Obispo-bound Sundgren was the top CS 3200 runner at last year's CIF State Meet, 10th in 10:39.15. She won the 3200 title at the TRAC league championship, finished fourth in the CS Division I meet and was third in the CS Masters Meet. Her PR last year was 10:21.73 in the Arcadia Invitational. She also competed in the 800 and 1600 events throughout the year, winning the 1600 TRAC title. Her PR in the 1600 came in 2021 when she ran 4:49.67 in the CS North Area meet. Also a standout for the Bears' cross country team, which swept the TRAC, CS Division I and State Division I team titles in 2022.
Bakersfield Highland, Jr.
Distances
Torrecillas is the defending CIF Central Section Division 2 champion in both the 1600 and 3200 and made it to the CIF State Meet final in both events. Her best times in both events came at the Central Section Masters Meet -- 4:50.51 in winning the 1600, and a 10:35.45 in a runner-up finish in the 3200. She won the SEYL championships in both events. She's coming off a strong cross country season in which she won the league final title, the Kern County championship and the CIF Central Section Division 2 final.
Clovis, Sr.
Long jump
Defending State Meet champion in the long jump. She went 20-8.50 in a wind-aided (3.1) mark -- her personal best -- in the CIF State final. She has the top mark among all returning athletes in 2023. She is a two-time Central Section Masters champion in the long jump. She went 19-7.25 to win CS Masters last spring and improved on that with a then-PR of 19-11.75 at State Prelims. The 6-foot tall Vanek is an outside hitter in volleyball headed to the University of Arizona.
Ryan Blystone is a freelance writer and a regular contributor to MileSplit
Photos by DeAnna Turner, Dan Tyree